Tesla and oil companies lose market share as luxury...

1of15In this Aug. 6, 2018, photo provided by Porsche AG, Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche AG, speaks next to the Taycan during the ceremonial opening of 70 Years Porsche Sportscar at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany. While Tesla grapples with internal issues like production delays, a sometimes-erratic CEO and a recent about-face on whether to go private, its rivals are moving aggressively into the luxury electric vehicle space. Porsche is taking on Tesla's Model S high performance luxury car with the Taycan, expected to reach the market in late 2019. (Porsche AG via AP)Photo: Joerg Eberl, HONS / Associated Press

6of15The battery plug in the grill of an Audi e-tron, a plug-in hybrid car used for testing at Southwest Research Institute's new battery testing facility, on Wednesday, June 6, 2018. MARVIN PFEIFFER/mpfeiffer@express-news.netPhoto: Marvin Pfeiffer, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

7of152017 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron

8of15This undated photo provided by Jaguar Land Rover North America shows the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace, a fully electric small SUV that makes a compelling alternative to Tesla's electric lineup. (Courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover North America via AP)Photo: Associated Press

9of15FILE- In this April 25, 2018, file photo journalists and visitors look at the Jaguar electric-powered I-Pace model showcases at the China Auto Show during the media day in Beijing. While Tesla grapples with internal issues like production delays, a sometimes-erratic CEO and a recent about-face on whether to go private, its rivals are moving aggressively into the luxury electric vehicle space. Jaguar Land Rover has the I-Pace. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)Photo: Andy Wong, STF / Associated Press

10of15Waymo has formed a partnership with Jaguar Land Rover to build a self-driving version of the Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV.Photo: Waymo / Havas Formula, Jaguar Land Rover North America

11of15Waymo has formed a partnership with Jaguar Land Rover to build a self-driving version of the Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV.Photo: Waymo / Havas Formula, Jaguar Land Rover North America

12of15Elon Musk, chairman and CEO at Tesla and chairman of SpaceX, inhales what he said was marijuana on a live YouTube webcast Thursday night. (Screenshot/Youtube)Photo: Youtube, HO / TNS

14of15LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 30: A tesla is seen during the launch of S.E.A. JEANS, celebrated by Outerknown, at Ron Herman Melrose on August 30, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Outerknown)Photo: Charley Gallay, Stringer / Getty Images for Outerknown

15of15(FILES) In this file handout photo taken on August 22, 2018 and released by Kalashnikov media press office, shows a retro-looking pale blue prototype electric car, the CV-1, produced by Russian arms maker Kalashnikov, in Moscow. - A recent pledge by Russian arms maker Kalashnikov to compete with Elon Musk's Tesla with a Russian retro "electric supercar" drew chuckles, but the legendary gun producer has long been trying to branch out into products from drones to yachts. Kalashnikov presented, on August 23, 2018, its new electric car inspired by a rare 1970s model which surprised visitors to the Kalashnikov stand at a defence trade outside Moscow last week. The remarkable transformation by the manufacturer most famous for the AK-47 automatic rifle is without precedent in its 200-year history. (Photo by HO / KALASHNIKOV MEDIA / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / HO / Kalashnikov media" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSHO/AFP/Getty ImagesPhoto: HO, Handout / AFP/Getty Images

If you want to know what features will be standard on the average automobile in five years, an industry axiom says look inside next year’s luxury cars.

A peek into the 2019 offerings from Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Jaguar and Audi reveal batteries, lots and lots of batteries.

Elon Musk is in a dramatic race to produce an affordable electric car in large numbers because Tesla is about to lose its near monopoly on the luxury electric car market. If Tesla successfully produces a middle-market vehicle at scale, then electric car production will grow exponentially, transforming the transportation and energy industries.

Next year Mercedes will begin producing the EQC, a crossover model that will be the company’s first all-electric car. The German automaker is spending $12 billion on new electric-vehicle assembly lines to add more models soon.

Porsche will begin shipping the Taycan next year. Twin electric motors producing 600-horsepower will accelerate the two-seater to 60 miles an hour in under 3.5 seconds and still have a 310-mile range.

“Our new electric sports car is strong and dependable; it’s a vehicle that can consistently cover long distances, and that epitomizes freedom,” Oliver Blume, chairman of Porsche’s executive board, said.

Audi is taking reservations for its E-tron all-electric SUV. Jaguar is also betting on SUVs, entering the electric-vehicle market with the I-Pace. Perhaps not the best names, but still fine looking automobiles.

For the record, my wife and I have been driving our Chevy Bolt EV for over a year now, and neither of us can imagine buying a new car that is not electric. We’re paying the equivalent of $1.15 a gallon for fuel, and maintenance costs are 80 percent lower than for our Toyota. There is a reason why electric car owners are such annoying cheerleaders for their cars.

Musk certainly deserves credit for proving to the world that electric vehicles are viable with existing technology. But what’s remarkable is the innovation underway in battery technology that in five years will make internal combustion engines seem like 19th-century steam motors.

I first wrote about University of Texas Professor John Goodenough in April 2017, but recently the Wall Street Journal and Texas Monthly have highlighted his revolutionary work developing a solid-state electrolyte and a cobalt-free battery. The 96-year-old inventor of the lithium-ion battery believes he can double the energy storage capacity of existing batteries and cut the charging time in half.

Sila Nanotechnologies, a start-up in Alameda, Calif., is focused on making battery anodes out of silicon instead of graphite. The company says it has found a solution that boosts battery capacity by 20 percent.

Goodenough and Sila face fierce competition, though. Musk and Panasonic are reducing the amount of cobalt in Tesla batteries, and British entrepreneur James Dyson, the re-inventor of vacuum cleaners, says he can also double energy capacity while slashing charging time for electric cars too.

The U.S. Department of Energy handed out $31.9 million in research grants last month for developing new batteries. All of this research will take years to reach consumers, but they hint at why automakers are convinced electric vehicles are the future.

The last time I wrote about electric cars, skeptical readers pointed out that they are only as clean as their source of electricity. As for mine, I contract for renewable energy and charge between midnight and 4 a.m., when the Texas grid is mostly wind-powered.

Carbon dioxide emissions from U.S. power plants have fallen in seven of the last 10 years as natural gas and renewable sources replace coal, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Other critics question whether the U.S. power grid can accommodate millions of cars charging at the same time. But electricity generators are excited at the prospect because electricity demand has been flat for a decade. Luckily, the uptake rate will be slow enough that utilities can upgrade to larger neighborhood transformers as part of routine maintenance and still expect good profits.

Demand for oil will not suddenly dissipate due to electric vehicle adoption, but it will be reduced. Houston’s most prosperous industry should not dismiss predictions of a transportation revolution. After all, I remember when old-timers harrumphed at unleaded gasoline and electric-powered windows.

Chris Tomlinson has written commentary on business, energy and economics for the Houston Chronicle since 2014. Before joining the Chronicle, he spent 20 years with The Associated Press reporting on politics, conflicts and economics from more than 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. He’s also the author of the New York Times bestseller Tomlinson Hill, and he produced the award-winning documentary film by the same name. Both examine the history and consequences of race, politics and economics in Texas.